Qld maternity crisis: Opposition claims of axed services rejected

Opposition claims that some regional Queensland hospitals are on the verge of shutting their maternity services have been branded an “irresponsible scare tactic”.

Maternity services in multiple Queensland towns have been at risk of being put on bypass, with new documents revealing the extent of the state’s dire doctor shortage at the height of the crisis.

But allegations by the Opposition that multiple regional hospitals were at risk of shutting their doors have been slammed by Health Minister Yvette D’Ath as an irresponsible scare tactic.

Internal government emails released under Right to Information have shed light on the frenzied work done when the Gladstone Hospital maternity unit crisis first emerged in July 2022, more than 270 days ago.

A frantic hunt for fly-in temporary doctors for Gladstone came to nought at the time, because the few available staff had already been dispatched to other regional hospitals including Mackay and Gympie to prevent critical staff shortages amid the impacts of Covid-19.

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli said the emails were proof the maternity crisis ran far deeper than the state government was prepared to admit, and that authorities had chosen media management over patient protection.

In a statement, the Opposition said the emails revealed maternity services at Mackay and Gympie were close to shutting their doors.

Ms D’Ath said this was deliberately misleading, considering the Opposition did not point out the email was from July 8, 2022 — at the time about 2000 health workers were furloughed amid the Covid-19 wave.

Health Minister Yvette D'Ath and Leader of the Opposition David Crisafulli

She said it was irresponsible to scare regional mothers into thinking they would not be tended to at the Mackay or Gympie hospitals should they go there.

The emails on July 8, 2022, revealed a push to find staff for Gladstone’s maternity unit included reaching out to all locum agencies, the Mater and the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital but no one was available.

And the Mackay maternity unit was already getting help from the Mater and Metro North due to sudden staff leave needs, with Townsville and flying obstetrics and gynaecology services for rural and remote areas also contacted to prevent a bypass from occurring.

Staff from the Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service were also contacted, but the Gympie maternity unit nearby was itself on the verge of being put on bypass.

The emails, covering the period between July and October 2022, also reveal a concerted effort by Mr Butcher and his electorate office to get to the bottom of the issue and figure out what could be done to assist anxious mothers.

Ms D’Ath’s chief of staff, in an email exchange with his counterpart in Mr Butcher’s office, noted in one instance of a “change from the calm pace” of the old portfolios.

“Not too bad (of a week so far). Just going from one crisis to another,” he said on August 31.

Ms D’Ath threw her support behind the staff member, saying it was a casual exchange between colleagues.

Originally published as Qld maternity crisis: Opposition claims of axed services rejected